"You're LTE Has Been Shut Off"

 21 December 2021

1054

R. Linda:

So this first morning of winter opened with the eldest and middle child missing their bus to school. Neither set their alarm, one thought the other had and vice versa. That meant Tonya was awakened before the sun was even up.

"I made the coffee for ya mom," O'Hare said.

She went to the kitchen in her sleep daze, poured a thermos and was on her way out the door to her car when she heard the shower go on. Hesitating, she listened and thought it odd I would be in the shower that early, so she went back upstairs to find O'Hare in the shower and the other one waiting for his turn. To think she could be out in her cold car waiting for them set her off. She had a whispered tangent of a discussion on setting phones, clocks, and anything with an alarm so this sort of thing wouldn't happen.

Meanwhile, I was listening to people running up and down the stairs so many times, I could sleep no longer. I got up thinking there was some crisis. The wee one had his second Covid shot yesterday and the first thing that sprung to mind was he was having a reaction. I looked in on him and he was hard and fast asleep the lucky guy. 

I shrugged and went downstairs to get me a cup of Joe as I could smell it. I thought perhaps the eldest had missed his bus and well, I was right I found out later. 

Meanwhile, I got a cup of Joe and sat down to enjoy the hot kick of waking up with me favourite beverage when I turned on my phone and it said, YOU HAVE NO LTE SERVICE, VERIZON HAS SHUT IT OFF. 

That meant I had no text or incoming phone messages unless they were sent over the Internet. WHAT? In my half-awake mind, I could only think me wife was unsuccessful in getting our phone bill paid. I had tried the Thursday of last week to pay the bill, BUT every time I got the automated payment voice it cut off on me so I was not able to pay. I had set up autopay, but that seemingly hadn't worked, thus me using the phone service. I had tried this several times, and every time I got cut off. I even went to the Promise To Pay site and did that with the hopes I'd get through on the auto pay eventually, just to keep me phone service. To talk to a person it was going to cost me $10, and it now costs me $50 to be shut off. I am sure there is a fee to be turned back on as well, but I was too foggy to want to think about THAT.

I sat there fiddling with the auto pay again and the same thing -- cut off. Suddenly, there is a message comes up I have zero balance. I found out later Tonya had finally got through and the bill was paid. I tell ya, I just can't win. 

Gabe

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